1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to electronic support measures and, more specifically, to systems and methods for the detection of emitter pulses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Determining the location of emitters of electromagnetic (“EM”) radiation in a monitored area, especially multiple emitters in an area, is a matter of interest in many applications, such as military or security applications. In one such application, it is desirable to determine the location of EM emitters in a monitored geographic area. Known methods for determining the location of EM emitters involve collecting electromagnetic radiation data simultaneously at one or more EM receiver platform sites having known locations in the monitored area. The EM data collected at the EM receiver platforms may be filtered in order to isolate a particular frequency range of interest.
Once the EM data is collected, it is necessary to separate pulses associated with the EM emitters from background noise associated with the system. For example, the amplitude of the collected EM data can be monitored for activity indicative of a pulse. When the amplitude exceeds a threshold, pulse parameters (e.g., frequency, amplitude, and phase) can be measured until the amplitude of the collected data falls below the threshold level. Accordingly, information associated with pulses from EM emitters can be lost in the background noise collected at the receiver platform.